Various child seats are known in the art, including child seats that are free-standing and child seats that are not non-freestanding child seats, i.e., made for attachment to a support structure of some type. Prior art child seats include those that offer protection from injury, such as vehicle safety seats, and those that permit a child to be seated at a desired height, such as table height for feeding and participating in family meals.
Representative prior art child seats include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,641,953 issued to Abraham for a Convertible Baby Seat; U.S. Pat. No. 1,742,822 issued to Olson for an Auxiliary Seat for Automobiles; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,860 issued to Smith for a Collapsible Child Seat.
While providing some beneficial aspects, prior art child seats (particularly non-freestanding seats) are disadvantageous for many reasons, including, but not limited to, the following: limited or no adjustability of seat height or position; limited or constrained seat attachment mechanisms which defeat more universal application; and the absence of a mechanism for keeping the chair (or other structure) to which the child seat is attached free of dirt and debris, such as dirt from the child's shoes or foodstuff dropped by the child. This latter problem is a major concern at stadiums, theatres and other public venues.
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages aspects and provides additional benefits.